Halo: Spartan Assault and Skull of Shogun become the first universal Windows apps

Just a couple of weeks after making the announcement, Microsoft on Tuesday released the first universal apps for Windows and Windows Phone. The apps in question include Halo: Spartan Assault and 17-Bit's Skulls of the Shogun, which you can now buy once and play across all three Windows platforms.

Both of them are priced at $4.99 each, and can be downloaded through the Windows Store or Windows Phone Store. The company has also re-purposed many of its free games into universal apps. These include Wordament, Hexic, Mahjong, Minesweeper and Solitaire.

For developers, the move means means that their apps will now be accessible on every Microsoft platform, while users will have to pay just once to enjoy the app on any of their devices. Scores, rewards, and other data will be automatically synced with each device.

Microsoft has previously said Xbox One users will eventually get access to universal apps as well, but there's no word yet on when that'll happen.

Surprisingly, the Windows Store does not provide any indication on whether the app is a universal or not. Windows Phone Store listings however display a small notice saying “Made for Windows Phones and Windows PCs”.

Microsoft has also dropped the minimum price for paid apps. The previous minimum was $1.49 but the company has pulled it down to $0.99 or $1.29.